Confirmation Guidelines 2014-2015The life of faith involves adventure, commitment, sacrifice, worship, desire, joy, servanthood, community & mystery... And confirmation is the act of committing oneself to continuing on this journey of faith. When you were baptized, God made promises to you…to be faithful to you, to love you, to forgive you, to lead you into abundant life, and that you would always be God’s child. And your parents and sponsors made promises to guide you in that life of faith. When you confirm your faith, this is called “Affirmation of Baptism,” because you are affirming the faith given in baptism. You are making promises back to God …to follow Jesus and to be his disciple, to commit yourself to the life of faith, to put your trust in God and follow the Spirit’s leading, to shine your light in the world through acts of love, worship and service.Confirmation is not a graduation, nor an ending, but a beginning. It is not an honor conferred as a reward for meeting certain external requirements after which one is “done,” but a commitment made from within oneself, to continue on this journey, and spoken within the gathered community also committed to this same journey.For these reasons, the following are not “requirements” for confirmation, but “guidelines” to point you towards the way of a deeper life of faith, and to encourage your commitment on the journey. They are sign posts along the way, not requirements to check off the list until you are done with them. During your 9th grade year, you will be asked to write a short reflection about your understanding of God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and the life of faith, and expressing why you desire to be confirmed. Writing this reflection will help you to reflect upon where you are at on the journey, and to think about your commitment to it. In the fall of your 10th grade year, you will be invited to make a commitment to continuing on the journey of faith. This doesn’t mean that you have all the answers, or that you don’t have doubts and questions and uncertainties, or that you aren’t exploring other spiritual paths alongside Christianity. It means that you are open to the adventure, and that the wind of the Spirit is blowing in your life. You don’t know where it will take you, only that you will follow it. Guidelines for Confirmation: · Worship regularly throughout the year, including Wednesday night Lenten services. · Attend Wednesday night Treks, Servant Nights and Home Huddles. · Attend the retreats each year of confirmation. Prioritize these, as they are the best and most fun way to learn and build relationships with each other! · Take an active role in worship several times each year, such as being an usher, greeter, running the power point screens, reading the Scripture lessons, offering special music, playing or singing with a worship team, being an acolyte, serving coffee and cookies during hospitality time between services. o You can sign up to help in worship on the church website. Go to the “at LWLC” tab, then click on “Worship,” then “Worship Helpers.” · Parents are by far the greatest influence on the faith of their children, and the home is where faith is primarily developed. o Consider spending 10 minutes together as a family at the end of each day (or whenever it works for you), in which you practice FAITH 5 (Share highs and lows, read a bible passage, talk about how it relates to your life, pray for each other, and bless each other). This process is outlined on the church website, and bible passages are given for each day. o Every day or as often as you are able, as a family, consider doing the “question of the day” listed on the church website. The questions are fun, intriguing, and encourage sharing and conversation around issues of faith. o If you are looking for deeper conversation, go to the “family conversations” tab under “faith resources” on the website. All of these are tools to help families deepen their faith life together. · Participate in Youth Group activities. (You will receive a postcard reminder a week prior to the activity.) · Go the Jr. High Synod Youth Gathering in 6-8th grade. Ask Pastors Todd or Denise if you are interested. It is on a Friday-Saturday, or Saturday-Sunday, in November in Willmar, and usually costs about $65 plus hotel costs. You will also need a parent or other adult to chaperon. · Join New Wine in 9th through 12th grades! New Wine is a group of high school students who put together a musical theater production, and then tour for about 10 days each summer, taking their show to different parts of the country.Talk to Pastor Todd for more information.